"This is potentially a paradigm shift," said Dr. Michael Flessner, a program director in the division of kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases at the U.S.

Gene therapy has also made inroads, adds Marcel R.M. van den Brink, head of hematologic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

Less well known has been the resurgence in its use as a therapy to treat hematologic malignancy.